It’s no surprise that a lot of planning goes into developing a new line of pre-rolls. What might surprise you is just how many options you’ll have when it comes to bringing your project to life. You truly have the opportunity to create something unique, so don’t rush the process—try to enjoy it. Every pre-roll project is different, so it’s important to have a plan that will take into account all the specifics of your project and keep you going… Read more.
Things are getting high in Missouri for cannabis users in more than one way! Less than two months into recreational pot being legal, there’s already a marijuana shortage and that’s leading to soaring prices. It starts with cultivators not being able to keep up with demand, moves down the line to manufacturers paying more for what’s grown, and ultimately leads to higher checkout totals at dispensaries. Missouri initially predicted around $50-60 million would be spent on cannabis. Now, we’re looking… Read more.
According to a recent state estimate, Illinois has collected a whopping $36 million in tax revenue from Wisconsin residents crossing the border to purchase marijuana in Illinois, where cannabis use has been legalized. This astounding number highlights the tremendous effect legalization could have on the state economy and attitudes toward marijuana use. It's important to remember that Wisconsin is one of the few states where lawmakers have not approved the use of marijuana in any way. Contrarily, 37 states currently have medical cannabis… Read more.
Marijuana multistate operator TerrAscend Corp. could become the first U.S. plant-touching company to list on the Toronto Stock Exchange by this summer if the restructuring plan it shared with shareholders and analysts wins TSX approval. And if the company is successful, that potential could trickle down to other U.S. plant-touching cannabis operators, which have been barred from major exchanges because marijuana remains federally illegal in the United States. Massachusetts-based Curaleaf Holdings, for example, has also had discussions with the TSX about the possibility… Read more.
A New Jersey hemp company is suing a Massachusetts biotech company claiming it operated a “Ponzi scheme” by using more than $700,000 it raised from the firm to fund its own projects, Salem News reports. In its lawsuit against the Salzman Group, Delta Technologies claims the drug development company took their money and used their machinery in other, failed, projects. According to the lawsuit, Salzman Group Chairman and CEO Dr. Andrew Salzman agreed to put together a “large team of scientists” to help Delta and its… Read more.
In an industry that once had an unusually high percentage of female CEOs, the marijuana sector now has fewer women in leadership positions than the U.S. average. According to MJBizDaily’s 2022 report, “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the Cannabis Industry,” the percentage of women executives in cannabis fell from 36.8% in 2019 to 23.1% last year. Meanwhile, the Russell 3000 index of publicly traded companies reports that women now hold 28% of board seats of the 3,000 largest U.S. stocks it tracks. How did… Read more.
Mere months before Robert Fireman died suddenly in December, the co-founder and former CEO of Massachusetts-based MariMed shook up the cannabis company’s management team and created a succession plan. Doing so would prove to be prescient. After MariMed hired Susan Villare as chief financial officer in May 2022, former CFO and co-founder Jon Levine briefly moved to the role of chief administration officer. “Then we decided that I would be better off as president of the company, which put me… Read more.
The 2023 Recreational Marijuana Supply and Demand Legislative report from the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission states that per-gram cannabis prices in Oregon have decreased by 16% from the previous year, reaching an all-time low of $4. According to the OLCC, the market demand for marijuana in Oregon was estimated to be 52% of the supply in 2021 and 63% in 2022. Despite the deteriorating market conditions, 2022 was closer to achieving supply/demand equilibrium than 2021. This was due to OLCC Producers… Read more.
While traveling recently I ran into Bud, a cannabis industry veteran, who I had known since I was a teenager. He is a big guy, trim, with impeccable taste. Nearly everyone likes him. He was married to another long-time industry insider. Their daughters, now grown, live scattered throughout the country and also work in the business. They all know everybody who is anybody, including “legacy” growers and sellers. Naturally, our conversation turned to the state of the compliant industry. Bud was… Read more.
“I started smoking cannabis in college. During my sophomore year,” discloses NBA legend Allen Iverson. “Entering my rookie year, I got a hold of something quite strong, and that changed my thought process around smoking.” Now a weed connoisseur, Iverson has joined forces with Al Harrington’s Viola Brands to launch a line of cannabis products and merchandise under The Iverson Collection name. But it wasn’t always smooth sailing in the marijuana world for Iverson. In fact, the athlete was arrested for pot possession back in 1997.… Read more.
Many have touted the health and tax revenue benefits cannabis can bestow. But little has been said about how the cannabis industry is leading the next industrialized revolution by building a new sector to manufacture cannabis products for a global marketplace. A robust and efficient infrastructure is key to building a thriving cannabis manufacturing sector that includes cultivation, processing, manufacturing, lab testing, sales, and distribution. As states build manufacturing supply chains within their borders, the groundwork for a national infrastructure… Read more.
Marijuana e-commerce platform Leafly Holdings this week laid off another 40 employees, or 21% of its workforce, a day before reporting its full-year and fourth-quarter financial results. The job cuts came as Leafly reported $47.4 million in revenue for 2022, a 10% increase from 2021, according to a Thursday news release about the Seattle-based company’s earnings. Operating costs, however, climbed more than 40% last year, although Leafly did manage to turn a profit of more than $5 million in 2022. “We’ve… Read more.
Wisconsin residents purchased more than $121 million worth of marijuana from legal retailers in neighboring Illinois in 2022, contributing about $36 million in tax revenue to the state, according to a legislative analysis requested by a top Wisconsin senator. Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard (D), who has sponsored legalization legislation in past sessions, asked the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) to study just how much money was flowing from Wisconsin to Illinois in the form of out-of-state cannabis purchases. LFB… Read more.
Illicit operators in New York are expected to capture $7.2 billion in untaxed revenue by 2030, according to a new report prepared by MPG Consulting for Acreage Holdings. In the New York Illicit Cannabis Market Absorption Analysis, MPG’s consultants outline the potential loss of 20,600 industry jobs and more than $2.6 billion in tax revenue over the next eight years if state regulators are unable to adequately address illicit market absorption. As the fourth-largest state by population with approximately 15 million adult residents,… Read more.
Given the general bearishness in the cannabis industry, Trulieve has something to offer to investors with high risk-appetites. After a rollercoaster ride over the last few years, the marijuana industry no longer seems enticing to investors. The lack of progress toward U.S. federal legalization, and lower retail and wholesale prices for the raw marijuana flower leading to lower corporate profitability, have pushed cannabis stock prices even lower. However, savvy investors recognize that every growing industry goes through hiccups and eventually settles… Read more.
Medical marijuana patients in Arkansas spent $23.1 million on cannabis products in January and $22.4 million in February for a total of $45.5 million over the two-month period. Sales for the first two months of 2023 combined increased by $4 million over the same period in the previous year, according to the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), implying year-over-year growth of about 9.6%. More than 92,000 active medical marijuana patients are registered with the Arkansas Department of Health,… Read more.
Cannabis flower prices per ounce have fallen in Michigan from $152 in January 2022 to $80 in January 2023, WOOD-TV reports. Benham Wrigley Jr., an attorney with CannaLex law, attributed the price decline to “oversupply.” According to a Crain’s Detroit Business report, there are five Michigan cannabis companies that have been placed under receiverships in the state. A receivership is a court-appointed tool that can assist creditors in recovering funds in default and can help troubled companies avoid bankruptcy. SKYMINT, which has 24 dispensaries in Michigan and has entered into… Read more.
Missourians voted to legalize recreational, adult-use marijuana in November. That constitutional amendment also established a framework for marijuana "microbusinesses" — business licenses intended to allow more "everyday folks" to participate in the state's growing marijuana industry. "Right now, the way I see it is these microbusinesses are effectively small businesses that are designed to allow particular entities and individuals to own and operate them," Missouri's Division of Cannabis Regulation Director Amy Moore said. While the idea seems straightforward, the details… Read more.
Back in the 1950s, Humphry Osmond led a group of pioneering psychiatrists in an extensive study of psychedelics. And from that research, they found that these hallucinogenic drugs had immense therapeutic potential. With academic research coming to an indisputable conclusion and mental health awareness on the rise, the legal landscape is starting to peel back antiquated laws that were put in place 50 years ago. In creating a superior treatment for mental health disorders, the Shroom Boom will give rise… Read more.
THERE IS ARGUABLY nothing more important to the success of a business than the war for talent. Bad leadership can kill even the best businesses, while great leadership can buoy a company selling mids. As a still relatively young industry, the legal cannabis industry finds itself grappling with an interesting question: what is the right talent for cannabis? In the quest for talent, leadership and the right “playbook,” it is quite common to hear people try to compare and contrast the legal cannabis… Read more.
It’s been one month since Missouri began approving licenses for dispensaries to sell recreational marijuana Feb. 3. In less than 30 days, Missouri’s nearly 200 dispensaries made about $103 million in weed sales – nearly $72 million of that came from recreational sales. According to Andrew Mullins, executive director of the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association (MOCann), Missouri has already outpaced Illinois in adult-use sales. The state is the only one bordering Missouri that also has recreational use. The first month of adult-use cannabis sales… Read more.
As former general manager of three Arena Football League teams, Reggie Harris knows the importance of going on offense. So, in 2021, when Harris and his team launched House of Kush, a Kansas City, Missouri-based company that sells cannabis-plant genetics via seedlings and licensing deals, he didn’t wait for clients to come find him. “Primarily, we’re going out seeking them,” Harris said. Today, House of Kush genetics are growing in six states – Arizona, California, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri and Oklahoma… Read more.
One of the challenges facing multistate marijuana operators is creating standardized operating procedures for cultivation facilities in various markets. Such was the case with Massachusetts-based Curaleaf Holdings in November 2020, when the company hired Matthew Indest, a plant breeding and development expert, for a newly created role: technical director of agronomy and plant improvement. At the time Indest joined Curaleaf Holdings, the company was operating in 19 states. “With our expansion and acquisitions, there were a lot of things done… Read more.
California, an industry bellwether for the marijuana industry, is seeing signs of contraction For the first time since the state's adult-use market opened five years ago, annual sales for marijuana in California fell in 2022. While Colorado and Oregon dispensaries are now bearing the brunt of the 2022 correction, Nevada and Washington retailers are also on track to report double-digit declines in terms of percent decreases to their sales totals this year after pandemic peaks equated to record growth across much of… Read more.
Nasdaq-traded marijuana company Bright Green Corp. is again attracting scrutiny and questions, this time for its audacious plan to raise $500 million through a federal investment program that targets immigrant investors. The company announced in a February news release it would use the money generated through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program to build out its “world-class production and drug manufacturing facilities” in the small New Mexico town of Grants. Florida-based Bright Green also plans to use the money to bankroll research and… Read more.
During the great cannabis land grab between 2018 and 2020, one newly public multistate operator (MSO) was decidedly more reserved in bidding for licenses in recently legalized locations. Planted firmly in Florida and laser-focused on dominating the limited-license, medical-only state, Trulieve appeared overly cautious next to its cavalier peers, many of whom were scattershot in their expansion plans, seemingly guided by a sense of inevitability around federal legalization and interstate commerce. Was Trulieve sacrificing the chance to become a national… Read more.
New Jersey's Casino Reinvestment Development Authority approved a proposal that would bring a 10,000-square-foot cannabis dispensary and lounge to Atlantic City's historic Claridge Hotel and former gambling casino where Marilyn Monroe once judged the Miss America Pageant. The Claridge Hotel, which opened in 1930 during the Great Depression as the last of the great hotels built near Atlantic City's Boardwalk, is making space for the High Rollers Dispensary on what used to be its casino floor. The Claridge is now a stand-alone hotel with no gambling. Because the Claridge does not technically… Read more.
SMITH FALLS, ONTARIO – Canopy Growth Corporation, one of the world’s largest cannabis cultivators and manufacturers, announced plans to lay off 35 percent of its workforce—roughly 800 jobs—in an effort to rebound from its recent CAD $266.7 million (about U.S. $196 million) net loss last quarter, following a CAD $115.5 million loss in the same quarter in 2021. Canopy also will consolidate its once-vast cultivation division, closing its signature 1 Hershey headquarters in Smiths Falls, Ontario. The company said the facility will be… Read more.
Cannabis has become a major cash crop in the United States owing to its legalization and increasing popularity. With the ever-growing demand for cannabis and other products derived from it, the cannabis industry has created thousands of employment and generated billions of dollars in revenue. According to a report by New Frontier Data, the legal marijuana market in the United States was valued at $17.5 billion in 2020 and is estimated to reach up to $41.5 billion by 2025. MEDICAL CANNABIS PROGRAM… Read more.
Vermont cannabis retailers sold about $5.7 million worth of cannabis products in January. Cannabis sales in Vermont reached $5.7 million in January, according to Agency of Administration data released last week. The state collected more than $1 million in tax revenues from cannabis sales. Vermont collected $799,102 from the 14% excise tax on cannabis sales and $342,472 from the state’s regular 6% sales tax. Under the state’s adult-use law, cannabis excise tax revenues are used to “backfill” any deficit in the Cannabis… Read more.
California cannabis regulators have launched a $20 million grant program aimed at expanding consumer access to licensed cannabis products. The California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) last week launched a $20 million grant program to expand consumer access to regulated cannabis, which the agency is calling “a national first-of-its-kind.” The grant will prioritize areas where national surveys find high cannabis consumption but have little to no access to cannabis retailers, the DCC said in a press release. The program “seeks to incentivize… Read more.
A week before a possible vote on rules for upcoming cannabis consumption lounges, the city of Las Vegas had not budged on a proposed 1,000-foot separation requirement between such establishments, a regulation applicants say could hamper turning the downtown area into the “Amsterdam of the West.” And while prospective license holders could apply for a waiver, their businesses could not afford to “gamble” with the uncertainty of leasing a location and then having their waiver denied, proponents told Seth Floyd,… Read more.
Are widespread layoffs in the North American cannabis industry an effective cost-cutting tool – or will they do more damage in an already challenging environment? Recent mass layoffs in technology, finance and media has prompted some business researchers to argue that widespread job cuts can be counterproductive when it comes to cutting expenses. “Layoffs often do not cut costs, as there are many instances of laid-off employees being hired back as contractors, with companies paying the contracting firm,” Jeffrey Pfeffer, a Stanford Graduate… Read more.
Regulators in Vermont are investigating links between Roman Abramovich, a Russian oligarch, and cannabis MSO Curaleaf. Cannabis regulators in Vermont are investigating the links between Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich and multi-state cannabis operator Curaleaf, VT Digger reports. The inquiry follows a report by Vice that found Abramovich invested $130 million and provided $194 million in loans to US cannabis firms between 2016 and 2018, with Curaleaf as the main beneficiary. In Vermont, Curaleaf owns Phytocare Vermont in Bennington and Vermont Patients Alliance in Montpelier. According to… Read more.
A Las Vegas off-Strip hotel plans to have an entire floor of cannabis-friendly rooms. Under new ownership by Elevations Hotels & Resorts, the Artisan Hotel Boutique will be rebranded as The Lexi. Officials at the 64-room property near Interstate 15 and Sahara Avenue say the ongoing multimillion-dollar transformation into a more modern, cannabis-inclusive hotel will attract tourists and locals alike. It hopes to open the cannabis floor in the spring. “(The Lexi is) going to be the coolest place to… Read more.
Trulieve Launches Rec Marijuana Sales In CT Trulieve Cannabis Corp.'s TRULTCNNF new dispensary in Bristol, Connecticut, started selling adult-use cannabis products on Friday, Feb 17. Recently relocated to 820 Farmington Ave., the company's hybrid (medical and adult-use) dispensary will offer a large selection of products available in various dosage forms from friendly and knowledgeable dispensary agents via pre-order or in-store. "Trulieve has a long history in Connecticut that dates back to the first medical cannabis sale in 2014, so we are proud to now… Read more.
Virginia’s Republican-controlled House of Delegates has consistently killed Senate-passed marijuana reform bills this session, and the latest legislation to be stopped in its tracks is a modest proposal to let medical cannabis businesses make certain state-level tax deductions. A House Finance subcommittee on Friday rejected the Senate-approved proposal to give the cannabis industry tax relief that they’re barred from receiving at the federal level under the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code known as 280E. This comes days after the chamber separately killed a measure… Read more.
The anticipated decline in tax revenues from cannabis sales in cities like San Diego is causing concern among city officials, who are bracing for a substantial drop in their budget. With California's regulated marijuana market facing numerous challenges, including illegal delivery services, San Diego predicts a significant revenue shortfall. Precisely, officials forecast a 23% decrease in cannabis tax revenue for the current fiscal year, resulting in $19.8 million instead of the expected $25.7 million. The decline in sales is primarily due to… Read more.
A few weeks ago, Elon Musk posted a three-character message that contained only the numbers 420, with no explanation. Many people interpreted it as yet another sign of Musk’s loud-and-proud canna-fandom. But weed industry executives saw it as a harbinger of a policy shift, speculating that Twitter would soon break ranks with other social channels and become a canna-friendly home in the digital realm. The guesses turned out to be correct, with the official announcement coming this week: Twitter has “taken measures… Read more.
A new government report is out in Australia involving projections of potential tax revenue if/when national adult-use cannabis legalization becomes a reality in the country. Adult-use is currently illegal in most areas of Australia, with a notable exception being the Australian Capital Territory where some legal protections for consumers exist. Cannabis commerce, including medical cannabis commerce, is very restrictive in Australia. Most of the country’s medical cannabis industry activity currently revolves around pharmaceutical products and research. Australia ‘s Parliamentary Budget… Read more.
Twitter is allowing cannabis ads to run on its platform in U.S. states where cannabis is legal and in Canada, according to the company’s blog and Axios. Twitter updated its ad policy Wednesday, making it the first social media app in the U.S. to allow cannabis advertising. Google last month updated its policies to allow ads for FDA-approved pharmaceuticals containing CBD and topical, hemp-derived CBD products with THC content of 0.3% or less in California, Colorado and Puerto Rico. Reddit allows for ads for “topical and non-ingestible hemp-derived… Read more.
Despite all the hype and optimism that characterized the initiation of adult-use legalization, the past ten years of both business and tax revenues have fallen far short of investor and analyst projections. Today, companies of all sizes are struggling to survive, while a healthy percentage of consumers across the country continue to favor the illicit market for their purchases. In a book published last fall titled Can Legal Weed Win? The Blunt Realities of Cannabis Economics, two economists at the University… Read more.
Psychedelic mushroom producer First Person (FP) has set terms for a downsized $6M initial public offering. First Person, which raises mushrooms for nutritional, nutraceutical and therapeutic purposes, said in a filing that it's planning to offer 1M shares priced between $5.50 and $6.50, which should raise around $6M if priced at the midpoint. Underwriters would be granted a 45-day option to buy up to a 150K additional shares to cover over-allotments. EF Hutton is serving as sole bookrunner. The company hopes to list… Read more.
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — The first adult-use cannabis dispensary north of New York City opened for business Friday on Court Street in Binghamton. It's no short drive for Western New Yorkers, at seven hours round-trip, but it is half the distance to the next-closest legal dispensaries in Manhattan. Just Breathe. will be owned and operated jointly by the Broome County Urban League, a nonprofit, and On Point Cannabis. The dispensary is one of 66 applicants statewide who have received a license through… Read more.
The psychedelic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) Market, currently estimated at $1.6 billion, is expected to rise at a CAGR of 13.2% over the next ten years and be worth $6.1 billion by the end of 2033. That's according to Persistence Market Research’s latest study, conducted by a team of experts in management, medicine and engineering. “Increasing cGMP practices, growth in the pharmaceutical API manufacturing industry and increasing research on the impact of psychedelics on mental health are factors propelling the global market,”… Read more.
The layoffs will represent 35 per cent of the company’s workforce. Forty per cent of the cuts will be immediate while the rest will take place over the course of the coming months. The former Hershey chocolate factory at 1 Hershey Drive in Smiths Falls was an iconic symbol of cannabis and cannabis legalization in Canada formerly under the Tweed banner. The company says it will move to an “asset-light model” and will also cease cannabis flower production from Smiths Falls to… Read more.
California-based cannabis multistate operator MedMen Enterprises is warning investors that it might not have enough money to “meet its obligations” for the next year and that there are questions about its ability to stay in business. MedMen’s latest quarterly filing with securities regulators noted that the company has only $15.6 million in reserves and a working capital deficit of $137.4 million. MedMen also said in the Feb. 2 filing that it has defaulted on some debt payments and is looking into refinancing… Read more.
Canopy Growth Corp. announced Thursday it plans to lay off about a third of the company’s staff – close to 800 people – and close its flagship production facility in a former Hershey chocolate factory in Smiths Falls, Ont. It’s the latest blow to one of Canada’s cannabis giants, which boasted an $18-billion stockmarket valuation less than four years ago. Here’s a timeline of how Canopy’s marijuana dreams went up in smoke. 2013: Canopy Growth Corp., known as Tweed Marijuana Co. at the time, takes over… Read more.
With New Jersey’s legal marijuana market off to a slow start, state officials announced Wednesday they would eliminate the cap on the number of companies allowed to grow weed and make $10 million in grants available to people opening a cannabis business who have been convicted of marijuana offenses or come from poor communities. The state Cannabis Regulatory Commission agreed to let lapse the 37-license limit on cultivators, a rule that would have expired later this month. New Jersey is nowhere near that… Read more.
A chain of cannabis stores that was once described as the “Apple store of weed” and valued as high as $1.7 billion as a public company, is near financial collapse, according to a regulatory filing. The company, MedMen, said that it has only $15.6 million in cash remaining versus $137.4 million in debt. “The conditions described above raise substantial doubt with respect to the company’s ability to meet its obligations for at least one year,” the company said in its filing last… Read more.
New legislation in Nevada seeks to remove the status of cannabis as a "controlled substance" and strip the Nevada Board of Pharmacy of authority over the plant and its derivatives. Assemblyman Reuben D'Silva said that under the proposed bill, the Cannabis Compliance Board would have oversight over marijuana, reported Fox 5 Vegas. "We don't need to have several levels of regulation on a substance now that we know is part and parcel of our community and part and parcel of our economy," D'Silva said. "In the end, this is a… Read more.
One of the most influential CEOs in the world whose statements alone managed to move the needle and create a change has once again expressed his unambiguous support for cannabis. This time, with just three numbers Elon Musk promoted marijuana for free, reported TheStreet. His "420" tweet on Saturday resonated with Twitter users worldwide, as over 65 million users have already viewed it. April 20, known as "420," is the unofficial holiday celebrated by marijuana users. Musk's Outspoken Support For Cannabis Even though he is not a regular consumer and has… Read more.
You can smell it in the air. The cannabis industry has grown exponentially since Colorado first legalized recreational use in 2012. Industry insiders predict total United States sales will reach $30 billion in 2023. One reason the outlook is so strong is cannabis customers are repeat shoppers. Forty-seven percent of users surveyed report daily consumption, and 51 percent were open to trying new products. Like all things these days, consumers find new products through their favorite social-media content creators. Influencers have had a favorable impact… Read more.
The commercialization of the cannabis market has resulted in its transformation from a movement to an industry. This shift brings added responsibilities, particularly in the area of social equity. As a regulated industry, the cannabis market bears a significant burden to prioritize and advance fairness and justice. The marijuana industry in the US, both medical and recreational, is thriving nationwide. With legalization in various states, business owners are eager to establish cultivation sites, produce cannabis products, and open dispensaries. However,… Read more.
The first store in Illinois to combine marijuana and alcohol sales opened Wednesday in Wheeling, with its owners hoping to make it a place for customers to hang out and relax. Okay Cannabis is unlike any other business in the state, hosting licensed cannabis sales under the same roof with West Town Bakery, which serves beer, wine and liquor as well as bakery goods and other food. The majority owner is Charles Mayfield, who is interim chief operating officer for… Read more.
As a long-time car executive for high-end brands such as Bentley, Mark Del Rosso knows what luxury car connoisseurs would want from a cannabis company — and they don’t seem to be getting it now. “There are a lot of people that are not being spoken to…regardless of income,” Rosso said. “It’s all about the notion that cannabis people are into that level of status and sophistication and culture that they want the very best.” To reach this target, Rosso… Read more.
Cannabizteam Worldwide has released its 2023 Cannabis Industry Salary Guide exclusively via Benzinga Cannabis and El Planteo. The new guide shows remarkable strength in the U.S. cannabis job market in the face of global economic challenges. Over the last year, cannabis salaries rose 5% on average and compensation for top executives rose as much as 10% year-over-year. “Fueled by a substantial increase in new cannabis consumers, record sales of over $30 billion, and the addition of high-population adult-use states, the cannabis job market remains remarkably strong," said… Read more.
Adult-use sales in Massachusetts on January 12 surpassed $4 billion since the market’s 2018 launch, the state Cannabis Control Commission announced last week. The sales were generated through 265 retail dispensaries and 14 delivery businesses. The state only began allowing delivery in 2021. In a statement, commission Executive Director Shawn Collins noted that demand for cannabis in the commonwealth “remains strong.” The agency indicated there has so far been 18 Economic Empowerment Applicant licensees, 29 Social Equity Program Participant licensees, and 50 Disadvantaged Business… Read more.
California officials are seeking a formal opinion from the state attorney general’s office on whether allowing interstate marijuana commerce would put the state at “significant risk” of federal enforcement action. The request for guidance from the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) is a key step that could eventually trigger a law that Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed last year, empowering him to enter into agreements with other legal states to import and export marijuana products. Part of that legislation stipulates that no… Read more.
As the legal cannabis industry begins to blossom, a new threat looms on the horizon: the dreaded potency tax. Retailers and consumers alike would feel the pinch as products with higher levels of THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis would be taxed at a higher rate. This buzzkill of a tax would target the very heart of what makes cannabis so beloved - its potency. Imagine walking into your favorite cannabis dispensary, only to find that your go-to strain now comes with… Read more.
San Diego’s Board of Supervisors voted to lower tax rates for cannabis shops in the county to allow businesses to compete with those in neighboring cities, reported San Diego Union-Tribune. Following a 4-1 board vote, the tax measure would be imposed on five existing legal marijuana operations and any others opening their doors. “As we set these dollars that are collected, I do think they should be benefiting the communities that they’re in,” said Jim Desmond, one of the supervisors. “County code allows for consumption… Read more.
“More real than reality itself.” This is the sales pitch made by fans of dimethyltryptamine. Otherwise known as DMT, the compound found in ayahuasca returned to the spotlight recently thanks to Prince Harry’s description of his trips, which, he says, “cleared the windshield” of trauma from his mother’s death. Indeed, psychedelic drugs have shown some promise in treating disorders ranging from depression to PTSD; their proponents have suggested that the apparently mystical experiences they inspire could play a role in everything from preventing war to enabling a future of… Read more.
After the market closed on Wednesday, Mind Cure Health Inc. (CSE: MCUR) (OTCQB: MCURF) announced its financial results for the quarter ending November 30, 2022. Keep in mind that last year in March, Mind Cure announced it needed more money and that was unlikely to be found. Accordingly, Mind Cure made the decision to eliminate all expenses outside those required to preserve the value of its assets including its public company status with Canadian securities regulators and cash and cash equivalents. At the… Read more.
A new “cannabis super center,” filled with 20 pot farms and multiple cannabis retailers, is likely coming to California’s Mojave Desert. The property’s developer has advertised the 29-acre complex as a “once-in-a-generation” project with a mix of “stores, entertainment, and supermarkets, not to mention its unique cannabis offerings.” The development, located roughly halfway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas in the city of Barstow, has received heavy criticism from local Christian groups, who warned that it would signal to the world that Barstow “belongs… Read more.
The historic storms pummeling California have caused widespread fallout for cannabis operators across the state and are disrupting operations and possibly supplies. As days of high winds and catastrophic rains batter the coast, some marijuana companies have temporarily closed operations and shored up their facilities in a desperate attempt to lessen the damage. Several businesses told MJBizDaily their operations have been flooded, causing untold economic setbacks. Others have reported product losses as heavy rains damaged crops. Widespread power outages have also halted… Read more.
Chris Chiari stood in front of 420 E 11th Avenue in Denver 12 years ago having just sold his home in Florida. The building there looked like a castle, he says. It was on the market. "I pointed up to the house," he says, "and I said, 'I want to turn you into a marijuana bed and breakfast.'" But the weed-friendly address wasn't destined to be his quite yet. In 2018, it went up for sale again. This time, the… Read more.
NEW YORK- After Canadian cannabis company Tilray Brands Inc. TLRY, +1.09% said it had lost money in the second quarter, its stock fell 3.7% in premarket trading on Monday. In contrast to a profit of $5.8 million, or breakeven per share, for same time last year, Tilray recorded a loss of $61.64 million, or 11 cents per share, for the second quarter. The adjusted loss was 6 cents per share, in line with the analysts’ forecasts. The second quarter’s net revenue for the business dropped from $155.15 million to $144.14 million. On a constant currency basis, net revenue in the most recent quarter totaled $157.6… Read more.
Roman Abramovich, a Russian billionaire and former owner of the English Premier League's Chelsea Football Club, has been discreetly investing in cannabis enterprises for years. According to Forensic News, the news outlet that obtained the secret documents, Roman Abramovich has contributed to funding the two largest shareholders of Curaleaf Holdings. The Russian businessman is also said to have close relations with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. Curaleaf, the alleged cannabis company Roman Abramovich has been secretly investing in, is a renowned recreational… Read more.
NEW YORK – The nonprofit Housing Works Cannabis Co. opened its doors to the public in the East Village on December 29, marking the beginning of a new era for the industry in what’s expected to be the second-largest legal market after California. New York’s new market is expected to reach $1.3 billion in sales by 2023 and create more than 20,000 jobs in the next three years. Grand View Research expects the total New York cannabis market to eclipse $7 billion by 2025. The enthusiasm… Read more.
Russian billionaire and a former owner of the Chelsea Football Club, which plays in the English Premier League, Roman Abramovich, has been secretly investing in cannabis companies for years. According to leaked documents, sourced and shared by Forensic News, a Russian oligarch known for his close ties to Russian leader Vladimir Putin has helped fund the two biggest shareholders of multi-state cannabis operator Curaleaf Holdings CURLF. With a market cap of around $3.08 billion, the Wakefield, Massachusetts-headquartered company is considered one of the largest marijuana businesses in the… Read more.
DENVER – MJBiz Chief Executive Officer Chris Walsh, who has been with the company since its founding in 2011, will depart in January, MJBiz announced Friday. Walsh indicated he will take some time off before seeking new opportunities. As founding editor, Walsh developed the content strategy and direction for the website Marijuana Business Daily (now MJBizDaily), one of the first media outlets aimed at industry professionals. He also oversaw the development and publication of the print trade journal Marijuana Business Magazine (now MJBiz Magazine), the annual… Read more.
Marijuana shops across the U.S. are rushing to find alternative ways for customers to pay after networks that supported a popular workaround to the banking system began to shut down last week. Cashless ATMs, also called “point of banking” systems, allowed cannabis buyers to use a bank card instead of cash. The method had evolved to get around the fact that credit card companies and banks don’t want to be involved in marijuana transactions because the drug is federally illegal. … Read more.
Hanna served more than two months as the agency's acting executive director. This story was reprinted with permission from Crain’s Detroit Business news and written by Dustin Walsh. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Friday that Brian Hanna will continue as the permanent head of the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency after more than two months as its acting executive director. Brian Hanna, executive director, Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency Hanna rejoined the CRA on Sept. 19 from the Michigan State Police where he most recently served… Read more.
Cannabis giant Curaleaf Holdings Inc. (CSE: CURA) (OTCQX: CURLF) laid off around 220 of its employees ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, Business Insider first reported. In a statement to the outlet, Curaleaf declined to say which department the cuts occurred within, though said the cuts were “a part of an effort to control costs and drive efficiencies in the face of economic uncertainties ahead.” “I don’t like having to deliver this news, and we haven’t reached this decision easily,” Curaleaf CEO Matt Darin… Read more.
BEND, Oregon–According to a press release, Ross and Zach Lipson, who co-founded the privately held Oregon company, have resigned from their positions of leadership, and the board of directors has selected a new chief executive officer, chief financial officer, general counsel, and vice president of engineering. Tim Barash: New CEO of Dutchie Tim Barash, the new CEO, had previously held the positions of chief financial officer and chief business officer at Toast, a Boston-based software firm that trades on the… Read more.
Production is enough to meet total demand nationally. A new report by Oregon-based economist Beau Whitney found that the United States is already producing 48.8 million pounds of cannabis product from both legal and illegal sources – more than enough legal production to satisfy the entire national demand for marijuana. Whitney also found that if legal production continues ramping up, it will outpace illicit market production by 2026. His hope is that his new economic modeling and forecasting around the cannabis industry will help… Read more.
By Nevada law, cannabis is no longer a Schedule 1 substance in the Silver State, though it remains so federally. In September, Clark County District Court Judge Joe Hardy ordered the state Board of Pharmacy to remove cannabis from its list of most restricted substances after the Cannabis Equity and Inclusion Community (CEIC) and ACLU of Nevada sued the state, claiming that the classification violated marijuana provisions in the state constitution since 2001. Hardy then reaffirmed the decision with another… Read more.
Wave of business failures is on the way if the debt bubble explodes. A slow but steady years-long trend of licensed marijuana companies in California not paying all of their bills might be nearing its climax, industry insiders warned, and a wave of business failures is on the way if the debt bubble explodes. The lack of overall profitability for several years running – along with myriad other financial challenges – has led many businesses to shuffle payments around, delay payments to… Read more.
The age of buying marijuana when you fill up your car has arrived in the United States – at least in Florida. Green Thumb Industries, one of the biggest multistate operators in the U.S., signed an agreement with Circle K – one of the largest convenience-store chains in the world – that allows the cannabis company to lease space and open medical marijuana dispensaries adjacent to Circle K locations in Florida. The Chicago-based cannabis company plans to start a “test and learn”… Read more.